Outspoken in Tibet

Updated Nov. 23, 2007 12:01 a.m. ET

How long does someone have to spend in jail for saying "long live the Dalai Lama" in China? Eight years, apparently. This was the sentence meted out on Tuesday to Runggye Adak, a Tibetan nomad who called for the return of Tibet's exiled religious leader at a horse-racing festival on August 1.

The Chinese government has struggled for decades to quell the unrest in Tibet, and its heavy-handed tactics have been on full display in the city of Lithang, in Sichuan province, in recent months. Runggye Adak isn't the only...